Wake: Capital County of North Carolina, Vol. II

Wake History Comes to Life in New Volume

Learn about the unique history of Wake County in Wake: Capital County of North Carolina, Vol. II: Reconstruction to 1920 by authors K. Todd Johnson and Elizabeth Reid Murray. The newly released book is a companion volume to the first book which covers Wake County’s history to 1871.

Wake County was an exciting place to live during Reconstruction and during the 1920s. The latest County history book includes stories and facts about people, places, events and government, including:

• Wake was a banner whiskey county when statewide prohibition was passed in 1908. Johnston was first, followed by Wilkes and Wake, in having the largest majority against prohibition.
• Cary wagon maker and inventor Robert J. Harrison invented a wireless telegraph machine in the 1880s, more than a decade before Guglielmo Marconi of Italy patented his.
• Frank Spruill "Jakie" May of Wendell was a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, 1917-1921, and later played with the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs.
• Fuquay Springs was Wake's popular resort town in the early 20th century, when people came from near and far to "take the waters."
• Wake County Savings Bank, which opened in a former elevator shaft in 1905, achieved notoriety as the smallest bank in the United States (or maybe even in the world) at that time.

Speakers are available for book clubs, civic clubs, businesses or other organizations that wish to learn more about Wake County’s history. Contact Dale Cousins at Cameron Village Regional Library, 919-856-6726 or gcousins@co.wake.nc.us.

To order either volume, contact the Olivia Raney Local History Library at 919-250-1196 or oliviaraney@co.wake.nc.us.